1. Overview of Gambella Agricultural Research Institute

1.1. Establishment, duties and responsibilities

The Gambella Agricultural Research Institute (GARI) is one of the seven regional agricultural research institutes, and one of the eight agricultural research institutes in Ethiopia. GARI is an active partner of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS), operating in the Gambella National Regional State.

Agricultural research work was started in the then Gambella Agricultural experimental station in 1952 through the aid of American scouts. In 1977 in connection with development of public settlement around Abobo its name was shifted to be Abobo agricultural research center up to 1983 when Ethiopian agricultural research organization took all its administration. It was in 1989 that the center’s owner ship retuned to its mother region. Finally in 1999 the center becomes under the umbrella of Gambella Agricultural research institute constituting three different centers under it. (Abobo, Lara, Godera)

 The duties and responsibilities bestowed upon the institute in the proclamation establishing the GARI in 2007 were adopted from that of the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization (EARO), now the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), with slight modifications made. Accordingly, the institute was given responsibilities for introducing and adapting as well as developing suitable agricultural technologies, and testing, packaging and disseminating to users in different agro-ecologies of the region. The institute was given two additional duties during its establishment in 2007. Due to the absence of seed multiplying institute, GARI is responsible of multiplying basic seeds and foundation technologies of improved crop varieties and other agricultural technologies and playing greater role in transfer of research technologies in the region.

1.2 mission vision and objectives

Mission

The mission of GARI is to adapt, generate, popularize & disseminate technologies that enhance rapid & sustainable growth of agricultural production & productivity and promote market competence of farmers & agro pastoralists of the region.

Vision

GARI envisions to see that market oriented, modern agricultural technologies are widely used, natural resources conserved and developed & the livelihood of farmers and ago pastoralists in the region improved sustainably.

Goal

In pursuit of its vision and mission, GARI strives to generate appropriate agricultural technologies that contribute to the enhanced and sustainable agricultural productivity, competitiveness, economic growth, food security and poverty eradication.

Objectives

  • Generate and adapt agricultural technologies, demonstrate and popularize them and multiply and supply basic seeds.
  • Coordinate the region’s agricultural research conducted by research centers, higher learning institutes and other organizations.
  • Build up a research capacity and establish a system that makes the region’s agricultural research activities efficient, effective, demand driven and focusing on solving core agricultural problems

Key institutional values

  • Farmers and Agro pastoralists
  • Efficient & Effective use of Resources
  • High Ethical Standards of Research
  • Equity, Accountability & Transparency 
  • Timely and High Quality Services
  • Transformational Attitude, Initiative and Leadership at All Levels!

Clients

  • Farmers and agro pastoralists
  • Governmental and Non-Governmental Institutions engaged in agricultural R&D
  • Investors (producers, agro-Industries, technology multipliers)
  • Communities engaged in urban agriculture

1.3 Strategic themes

To achieve its mission the institute identified the following three strategic themes, constituting the pillars of the research processes and institutional management.

  1. Increasing availability of suitable agricultural technologies, information and knowledge,
  2. Increasing agricultural technology multiplication, promotion and transfer and,
  3. Enhancing research management and institutional capacity.

1.4 Core functions

The core functions of the institute are:

  1. Availing agricultural technologies by adapting from elsewhere and generating locally
  2. Meeting the demand for foundation technologies of the region: Multiplying basic seeds of improved crop varieties
  3. Testing, packaging & disseminating suitable technologies for users under different agro- ecological set-ups and production systems
  4. Supporting the ongoing efforts of the agricultural extension system to promote utilization of modern technologies by farmers: Strengthen farmers-research -extension linkages by establishing councils & FREGs

1.5 Research directorates, offices and work processes executing the strategy

To implement the strategic themes, achieve the strategic goals and specific targets set in the GTP and realize its mission, GARI’s research system is organized under four research directorates/main work processes (Crop Research Directorate, Livestock Research Directorate, food and nutrition and Natural Resources Management Research Directorate), three coordination offices (Technology Multiplication, Socio-economic Research and Technology Transfer and Gender coordination) and a support work processes and units.

2. Policy directions of agriculture sector

Fundamental policy directions that agriculture and rural development sector focuses on are scaling up productivity of labor and land; use different strategies for different agro ecological zones, focus on specialization and diversification and strengthening agricultural marketing system. On this basis Agricultural Development–led Industrialization Strategy focuses that small holder farmers/pastoralists need to efficiently use modern agricultural technologies and increase production and productivity. Moreover, the private sector is encouraged to increase its share of investment in agriculture. The impressive growth that has been registered during the last five years will be further strengthened in the upcoming second GTP period: agriculture will still be playing the leading role. This broad based growth will be focusing in producing enough food for domestic supply and high value crops for export.

Based on lessons drawn from the past the major focus of the sector will be scaling up best results of smallholder farmers to the majorities. Smallholder agriculture will continue to be the source of growth and the private sector will be actively supported in large scale commercial farms and it is expected to show a major jump in the size of investment. The basic sectoral direction includes:

  • Enhance the capacity and extensive use of labor,
  • Proper utilization of agricultural land,
  • Taking different agro-ecological zones into account,
  • Linking specialization with diversification,
  • Integrating crop, livestock, marketing, natural resources development as well as agricultural research, extension etc. Undertakings,
  • Efficient agricultural marketing system,

Organizational setting

One of the main reasons for the low agricultural production in Ethiopia is the low working capacity of the majority of population who has been facing malnutrition and under-nutrition for generation. To have a healthy and productive nation, we have to consider increasing the food (cereals, pulses, nuts, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, milk and milk-products, fish, egg and meat) production and assuring sufficient food with balanced diet to the people. This can be realized by research through observing the adaptability and multiplying the seed or planting material of well performed crops, transfer of agricultural technologies and information aimed at modernizing agriculture, so as to raise its productivity and efficiency.

To fulfill this aim, most probably, the American Peace Copes had been established Gambella Agricultural Experiment Station (GAES) since mid 1960s which stayed up to 1985, G. C. The experimental field was situated along Baro River adjacent to Baro River Bridge from the south. The field is suffering from flood during the rainy season including wild and domestic animals.  All the three research centers (Abobo, Godere and Lare) sites, even today, have no fence, thus, they are attacking simply by animals. In 1975 G. C. a site with 20 hectare (ha) was allocated with the EPID after cleared the forest which was one and half kilo meters (Km) downstream to the west along Baro River from the Gambella Town (Tesfahun F., 1999, unpublished). This land was covered with the well-performed different kinds of mango, orange, mandarin, grape, pineapple, rubber tree, cashew nut, banana, papaya, guava, avocado, and lemon plantation were present on this site since early 1999 G. C. under the responsibility of the Region`s Agricultural Development Bureau (RADB). However, if it is not listed by RADB, getting the documented sources of varieties, their detailed name and research results of them were in doubt. The establishers were properly graded or prepared the site in functional irrigation scheme and drainage. Today’s Gambella Agricultural Research Institute (GARI) office and residence were built around 300 m away in the North West of this site.

The name GAES was changed to Abobo Agricultural Research Center (AARC) in 1985 G. C. and well organized at today`s AARC. Abobo Agricultural Research Center has been stayed under Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute till 1994 G. C. and being under the Gambella Peoples Natonal Regional State in the same year. Again, the name AARC has been changed to Gambella Agricultural Research Center (GARC) since 2003 GC. The Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) of Ethiopia that established in 1966 and re-established to Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization (EARO) and Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) on 5 June, 1997 GC. respectively, is contributed a lot on each step to strengthening today`s Gambella Agricultural Research Institute (GARI).

Previous, the major share of the research work were observation or adaptation trials, evaluation of yield and agronomic performance of cereals, oil and horticultural crops. Today, it geared to variety trials, seed maintenance, multiplication, verification, demonstration, scaling up, etc. 

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